JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Parents at Westview K-8 School are wanting answers from officials at the school and Duval County Public Schools as air-conditioning units left students enduring stifling indoor temperatures this week.
The issue, which came to light after multiple children reported severe discomfort, has sparked deep safety concerns among local families who claim the district failed to notify them of the ongoing problem.
For many parents, the first sign of trouble arrived when their children returned home showing what they say is physical signs of heat distress.
Kayla Weiner, a mother of three Westview students, stated that her second-grade daughter came home complaining of a headache and stomach pain due to the classroom conditions.
“My daughter was like, ‘I had paper towels all over my whole body,’” Weiner said. “She had wet paper towels all on her pressure points.”
Another local parent reported that the extreme heat forced her daughter to miss school entirely after returning home in tears.
“She came in crying because she said it was too hot in the classroom,” the parent said, noting that classrooms lacked even basic cooling alternatives like fans. “They’re not sending any information to the parents.”
The lack of communication from school administrators had been a primary source of frustration for Weiner, who only discovered the malfunctioning A/C because her oldest son told her. The revelation left her deeply worried for her other children, particularly her son who has special needs.
“I really worry about my autistic son who’s in a different wing of the school, who can’t go, ‘Mommy, I was hot all day today,’” Weiner said. “He just comes home with a red face.”
After hearing the complaints, some parents visited the campus directly to verify the situation. They reported that the indoor climate was unpleasant, with Weiner noting, “It was hotter than standing in the sun.”
The situation at Westview K-8 is not an isolated incident. Since the school year began, Action News Jax has tracked a wave of parental complaints regarding broken cooling systems at multiple school classrooms across the Duval County school district.
“I’m sending my kids to school to a safe place, and there’s no A/C,” Weiner said. “That’s insane.”
DCPS responded with a statement: “It’s important to note that, much like with residences and businesses, the cause and solution can vary significantly from school to school. Some AC issues affect an entire building, while others are intermittent or limited to select areas. Some can be resolved the same day, while others may require several days to address. For that reason, schools are also communicating directly with their families to provide updates specific to their circumstances.”
Westview also replied to its parents’ concerns: “I want to make you aware that a temporary air-conditioning outage impacted several of our classrooms on Monday due to a malfunctioning chiller. Thankfully, district maintenance teams were able to respond quickly and resolve the issue Monday afternoon.”
“During the outage, we took steps to keep our students comfortable and maintain a positive learning environment. Impacted classes were relocated to areas with working air conditioning. We also made sure students had access to water and stayed hydrated.”
“Please know that the safety and well-being of our students remain our top priorities. We will always keep you informed about what is happening on our campus.”
“Thank you for your patience and continued support.”
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